Inkstand



(No Model.)

W. E. LEWIS.

INKSTAND.

.No. 454,874. PatentedJune 30, 1891.

Uwrrnn STATES lATENT CFFICE.

IVILLIAM E. LEWIS, OF COREY, PENNSYLVANIA.

INKSTAN D.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 454,874, dated June 30,1891.

Application filed $epteml1e1' 12, 1890- Serial No. 364,726. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, NVILLIAM E. Lewis, a citizen of the United States,residing at Corry, in the county of Erie and State of Pennsylvania, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvement-s in Inkstands; and I dodeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in ink-wells; and it has for itsobject, among other things, to provide a buoyant automatic stopperresting within the pen-dipping tube or well, which, by'reason of itsbuoyancy, will normally close said tube to exclude air from the ink, andwhich will sink when the penpoint has been pressed against it and allowink to pass its sides to feed said pen-point. This object isaccomplished by the construction, which will be fully understood fromthe following description and claim when taken in connection withthe'accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of myimproved automatic stopper ink-well, and Fig. 2 is a verticaldiametrical sectional View of the same.

In carrying out my invention I do not desire to limit myself to anyparticular material in the construction of the several elements thereof,and it is obvious that such modifications may be made in saidconstruction as fairly fall within the scope of my invention.

Referring by letter of designation to the drawings, the bod yA ispreferably constructed in the form illustrated, although it is obviousthat it may be of a rectangular or any other desirable contour eonducentto a thorough operation of the automatic device hereinafter described.This body A has its top 13 sloping from a point adjacent to itsperiphery toward. the center, whereby all drippings from the pen aredrained back into the bottle, and it is provided at such central pointwith an annular aperture of a su'lficient diameter to allow a freedipping of the pen. Preferably formed integral with and depending fromthe top B, surrounding the central opening there of, is a tube 0, whichextends to a point adjacent to the bottom of the well, and is open atits lower end to permit the ink to rise therein.

The spherical stopper D, which is hollow to increase its buoyancy and ofa diameter to fit the depending tube 0, so as-to move freely therein, isdesigned and adapted to be pressed downward and when .so pressed toallow the ink to rise above it to feed the pen, by which the sphere ispressed downward.

The bottle or body A is preferably constructed in one piece ofvulcanized rubber molded or otherwise formed, and it is provided in itstop adjacent to its periphery with a ven t-opening, which is closed whendesired by a plug, as indicated by E.

WVith a well of this character it will be seen that when the same is atrest the sphere D, by reason of its buoyancy, will assume the positionillustrated in Fig. 2 and practically prevent evaporation of the ink,and it will also be seen that when the pen-point has been pressedagainst said sphere. it will sink and the ink will rise above its sidesand feed the pen. WVhen the pen has been removed, the sphere willreadily assume its normal position and close the well-tube. I

Having described my invention, what I claim is The ink-well having itstop sloping toward the center and having a central opening therein, thetube 0, depending from said opening into the well and of a correspondingdiameter throughout, and the hollow rubber ball D of a diameter to fitclosely in said tube, which ball is allowed to move within the tube andby its buoyancy close the same when the pen has been removed from theball in use, substantially as specified.

Intestiinony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM E. LEWIS. Witnesses:

D. T. FLEMING, FRANK LAURIE.

